Hong Kong police have arrested six teenagers on suspicion of selling or possessing a new type of drug known as “space oil” disguised as e-cigarette capsules.
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Kwai Tsing district police said on Sunday officers seized five capsules of the controlled drug etomidate, an anaesthetic, along with five vape pens. The six teenagers, comprising four males and two females aged between 15 and 17, were arrested during an enforcement action on Friday.
Five were arrested on suspicion of drug possession, while a 17-year-old was held for allegedly selling the narcotic.
While there is no standard formula for space oil, it typically includes etomidate, a prescription-only anaesthetic deemed a Class A poison. It can be mixed with other drugs such as cannabis, methamphetamine and ketamine.
Space oil can cause serious physical and mental harm, including addiction, memory loss, seizure, loss of consciousness and even death, according to the government’s Action Committee Against Narcotics.
The committee earlier reported that drug abuse cases dropped by 8 per cent in the first half of this year compared with the same period in 2023.